Catherine O’Hara’s path is a story of relentless craft disguised as effortless charm. On Second City Television, she learned to disappear into characters so completely that audiences laughed first and only later realized how precise, fearless, and emotionally grounded her work truly was. That training made her the secret weapon of every ensemble she joined, from Beetlejuice’s anarchic chaos to the aching sincerity beneath her mockumentary performances in Best in Show and beyond.

As Kate McCallister in Home Alone, she anchored a wild family comedy with real heartbreak and regret, turning a frantic mother into the emotional core of a holiday classic. Decades later, as Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, she reintroduced herself to the world, transforming a potentially cartoonish diva into a strangely fragile, unforgettable soul. Loved by peers, revered by actors, and cherished by audiences, O’Hara’s legacy is simple and rare: characters that feel absurd and, somehow, exactly like us.